One of Bangkok’s most famous landmarks and known from many postcards, the Wat Arun is best known for its massive prang, a tower on the Chao Phra river bank built in Khmer architectural style. The prang with its height of more than 80 meters is the highest in Thailand.
The Wat Arun, commonly known as “the Temple of Dawn”, is one of only six temples of the highest grade of the first class Royal Temples, and therefore one of Thailand’s most revered temples.
One of Bangkok’s oldest temples
It is also one of the few temples that predates the founding of Bangkok and the start of the Rattanakosin era in 1782. It’s prang dominated the skyline around the Chao Phraya river during the early days of Bangkok and today is still one of the most impressive sights on the river.
After the destruction of the former capital Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767, King Taksin the Great established Thonburi on the West bank of the Chao Phraya river as the new capital.
The area where the Wat Arun stands, which is almost directly opposite of the Grand Palace on the other side of the river, was chosen as the location for the new capital of the Thonburi Kingdom. The temple that was originally named Wat Jaeng was build on the remains of an older temple named Wat Makok dating back to the Ayutthaya era.
The prang of the Wat Arun
Name
Wat Arun, the temple of Dawn
Date
1768
Location
Wat Arun Amarin Road
On the West bank of the Chao Phraya river
Bangkok
On the West bank of the Chao Phraya river
Bangkok